The invention relates to devices attachable to consumer goods for indicating the unauthorized removal of such goods from a prescribed area, and more particularly to devices of this general nature suitable for attachment to a fragile or expensive garment.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,922 issued to A. L. Williams et al. on Feb. 27, 1973, a theft-indication device suitable for association with certain types of consumer goods is described. In particular, a pair of levers having confronting bent ends are supported for mutual oscillation, with the outer surfaces of the bent ends of the respective levers individually exhibiting mating projections and recesses which are joined together through the article to be protected. One of the two levers has a suitable signal transmitter therein, so that when the article with the levers attached thereto moves past a sensing area on the premises, a suitable detector at the sensing area picks up the indication emitted by the generator to trigger a suitable alarm.
Unfortunately, the use of such bent levers, which are heavy and bulky in construction, are unsuitable for attachment to fine clothing, since the mass of the levers and the concentration of the needle-like projections in the piercing area of the garment would tend to buckle, distort and otherwise damage the garment.